October 2017 Events [Recap]

Sunday, November 12, 2017

October was a busy month of eating and drinking my way around the city and things don't seem to be slowing down anytime soon. I've rounded up my favourite events from last month in case you didn't get the chance to attend.

Eat to the Beat

The 22nd annual Eat to the Beat took place on October 17, 2017 at Roy Thompson Hall in Toronto.
This was my third year attending Eat to the Beat and it continues to be one of
my favourite events in the city. This
fundraising event features 60 female chefs from around the GTA serving up
delicious bites in support of fighting breast cancer. The funds raised at Eat to
the Beat will go directly towards supporting the full spectrum of breast cancer
care – from important research where the latest innovations are developed, to
direct patient support.

Guests at Eat to
the Beat were treated to an amazing line-up of food and
drink to indulge in all evening long. As always, I can never get around to trying
all of the wonderful items, but I have complied a collage of my favourites.

Hotober at Nando’s

My spice
addiction was sustained this month when I got an invite to celebrate HOTOBER at
Nando’son Queen St. This fiery event featured Nando’s famous
flame-grilled peri-peri chicken. Not only did we get to eat copious amounts of
their delicious chicken, but we got to make our own peri peri sauce using the
renowned African bird’s eye chili straight from Mozambique. Making peri-peri
sauce was way easier than I thought. We just used a mortar and pestle to mash up
the chili and then added oil, paprika, a squeeze of lemon, garlic and
onion. Of course our version was much
chunkier than the bottled sauces at Nando’s but the outcome was still hot and
flavourful.

I really enjoyed this event because I learned so much about the
history of Nando's and their dedication to staying true to their roots leading back to
Rosettenville, South Africa where the very first Nando’s opened up
in 1987. I also must mention that I have
never encountered such an amazing, dedicated and FUN group of staff members at Nando’s. By the end of the night we had chatted with almost every staff member and were left with a memorable impression of the Nando’s
brand and specifically this location.

Fresh Hop Fest

A monthly
round up post is not complete without me talking about beer. I kicked off the
beer consumption this month at the inaugural Fresh Hop Fest hosted by Drink
Inc. and Sobeys Urban Fresh. The event
was held at the Berkeley church in Toronto and featured fresh wet-hop beers by
some of my favourite breweries.

Timing is key
in brewing a wet hop beer. After picking
the hops, brewers fire their kettles to seize the hop in its most natural
state. The journey from field to wort must be hasty, or the hops lose their
fertile magic. Wet hop beers are earthy
and fresh, and brewed to flaunt their subtle, but sensational character. A wet hop beer tastes quite different from
the dry hopped beers that many beer lovers are used to.

Some of my favourite beers of the night were the American IPA by Muskoka Brewery, Wet Hop 2017: Chinook by Sawdust City Breweing Co and Local Hoption IPA by Niagara Oast House Brewers.A special thanks to Sobeys Urban Fresh for providing delicious charcuterie plates to everyone all night long.I think I ate too much for my own good and it's probably because I have a bit of an obsession with cheese (shout out to the Pumpkin Spice Gouda). If you love Drink Inc. events or just love beer in general then be sure to grab tickets to the upcoming Hoppy Holidays Beer Festival on December 5th. You can expect some exciting seasonal brews at this event, delicious food and chances to win future beer fest tickets by showcasing your ugliest Christmas sweater. Link to tickets.